Close To Crazy
by RamblinNicoleStarr
Summary: Not long after Brock and Barbra Jean decided to give their marriage another chance they realized that the best option is for them to be apart. Brock realizes that the woman he's supposed to be with is Reba, but doesn't want to risk their friendship at first. He drives himself close to crazy while Reba, as well, is driving herself close to crazy. Will the exes be crazy together?
1. Starting Over Again

"What do you want me to do, Reba?" The blonde haired, blue eyed, tan skinned man asked his ex-wife as she stood on the other side of the living room. Yes, Brock Hart hated to see his ex-wife like this, but there was nothing he could do. He was lucky that he had a close relationship with his ex, and that she was still his best friend, but it would have been a complete like for him to say that he wasn't scared to tell Reba about what was going on.

The redhead stood with her mouth slightly dropped as she glared at the man. "You can tell me that you're lying. That this isn't true."

There was no way that the man could do that. It would have been a complete lie, and he promised himself a long time ago that he was going to be truthful with everyone, especially Reba, no matter how hard it was. "You and I both know that if I said that it wouldn't be the truth. All I can tell you is that the two of us did our best. We tried to make our relationship work but it didn't and when we realized it was never going to work between us we knew what we had to do, for the sake of Henry."

"And she just packed her things and left? That was it? No more fighting? Just off to Arkansa for that job offer that the weather station offered her half a year ago?" Reba couldn't believe the words that were leaving her ex-husband's mouth and entering her ears. Any other ex-wife would be glad to hear that the marriage of her ex-husband and his mistress had failed, but a couple of years after her divorce with Brock, Reba had become one of Brock and Barbra Jean's biggest supporters. Any time Brock and Barbra Jean were having issues in their marriage, Reba was the one to try her hardest to get the two to work it out.

Brock simply shook his head no as he stared at Reba. He couldn't help but to wonder what was going on in her mind. She would over think things and she always felt like she had to fix everyone's problems, but she always meant well. There was never a moment that Reba did something where she didn't mean well while doing it. This was the woman who during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina took in an entire family, easily over twenty people, into her home which already had five people living in the three bedroom house. "After we agreed to get a divorce she packed her things, came over here and told you goodbye, and then left."

Reality seemed to finally sink in for Reba. Barbra Jean, a woman that she had loathed but quickly became her best friend, had moved to a different state. There was no telling what Reba's life was going to be like without the unannounced visits from Barbra Jean. "I didn't realize she was actually leaving! I thought she was just being her dramatic self and that she would be back that night!"

"She called me last night to tell me that she had made it to Arkansas safely, and wanted to know how Henry was doing." Reba's reasoning behind not believing Barbra Jean made perfect sense, however Barbra Jean was serious this time. She wasn't being her dramatic self that she had a tendency to be.

Reba walked to the couch slowly before she sat down and tried to comprehend what Brock had told her. "What are y'all going to do about Henry? I know what it's like to go through a divorce and have kids together; you do too. How is that going to work with Barbra Jean in Arkansas and you here in Houston?"

As he shrugged his shoulders, the man looked at the redhead. "We're going to find a way. She'll come down here and visit, we'll go up there and visit, it'll work out."

"If you or Henry need anything you know I'm always here." By this time Brock was sitting next to her and she had pulled him into a hug.

Strawberries; that's what her hair smelled like from her shower that morning. Her hair was soft and he didn't mind having it in his face. "I really appreciate it."

For a moment it was as if everything was okay in the world because he had Reba in his arms. The feeling that he felt towards Reba was wrong but he couldn't deny that the feelings he felt towards her were real, and they never fully went away when they divorced. Brock had simply grown love for another woman and pushed his feelings for Reba aside because he knew that their marriage was dead.

"Where's Henry right now?" Reba asked trying to change the subject.

Brock slowly let go of Reba, not really wanting to. If he could simply keep her in his arms the rest of his life he would be satisfied, but he knew that he was the one that had messed that up years ago. "He's at the house with Kyra. She's been trying to help me out more since everything happened."

All Reba could do was smile at what Brock had said about their middle child. "She really has grown into an amazing young woman."

In complete agreement, Brock smiled. "I have you to thank for that."

"It wasn't just me, Brock," Reba looked at Brock. Their life during the end of their marriage was filled with fighting. It was filled with days where Reba was home with the kids while Brock was at his dental practice, or at the golf course.

As she stared in his blue eyes, Reba knew Brock still hated himself for what had happened. "You were the one who raised our kids. I stayed at work or the golf course and made decisions that destroyed our family and our lives while you stayed home and raised our children."

"You've always been a good father, Brock. No one can ever take that away from you," Reba explained as she hoped he would believe her. Yes, the man had made decisions that in return would flip his and his loved ones lives upside down, but he was a damn good father.

Another word wasn't spoken from Brock. Instead he wrapped his arms around his ex-wife again. It meant the world to him to hear that she thought he was a good father. He knew he had flaws, but to know that Reba thought he wasn't a complete failure made him smile. "I don't understand you Reba."

Shocked, Reba quickly pulled away from Brock and stared at him. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You know as well as I do that you've always been the one taking care of our children. Looking back I feel like the majority of all of their childhoods I was at the golf course or work. Things got tough between us so I did what I could to avoid our problems, only to miss out on my kids lives." Brock was being brutally honest with himself, something he had been trying to do since he had started therapy three years ago.

' _God, this man amazes me sometimes,'_ Reba thought to herself while she stared at him. "You were a good father Brock; you are a good father. I know you distanced yourself from me and it caused trouble with the kids, but you were always there for them. You always took the time to make sure you were taking them out as siblings and then individually as well. Being a husband might not have been your strong point towards the end, but you were always an amazing father. And if you need any help with Henry you know I'm here."

Was it wrong for Brock to feel himself falling for her again; after all, he was getting a divorce with Barbra Jean. However, Reba was his ex-wife and maybe that wasn't what either of them needed at the moment. He simply wanted to know if Reba was feeling the spark too, but figuring it out was difficult and to Brock it wasn't worth risking the friendship that they had; not now at least. Maybe there would come a day, and Brock prayed it would be sooner than later, where he would find out if she felt the same. For now he was content with the friendship they shared.


	2. Out of a Dream

The front door of Reba's house swung open that evening as Brock and his son walked into the home. "Reba, can I talk to you for a moment?" Brock asked as he could see the confusion on Reba's face.

"Yeah, uh, sure. Jake is upstairs, Henry. Why don't you go play with him?" Henry quickly ran upstairs without saying a word to Brock or Reba. "What's going on?"

Brock took a seat on the couch, followed by Reba. He wasn't sure of how to start the conversation because there were a couple of things he wanted to say. "I don't know what I'm doing. I went home to make dinner for Henry and I and I just couldn't do it. I know how to take care of him but-"

"But you've never had to take care of kids on your own before." Reba knew exactly where he was heading with his sentence and therefore was able to finish his sentence for him. Brock was right, he had never had to take care of any of the kids on his own. He always had Reba or Barbra Jean with him, and when he was alone with the kids they normally went out and went to the movies and then a restaurant.

As he sighed, Brock looked at Reba and nodded his head. "Yeah, it's never just been me with a kid. I just don't really know what to do."

Times were getting a lot tougher for Brock, and Reba was pretty sure he was realizing what reality held in store for him. Karma was not his friend. This could very well be karma for the way he treated Reba during the end of their marriage, but even if it was Reba couldn't not be there for him. "Well tonight y'all are having dinner with us. In fact, why don't y'all just stay with us? You can sleep on the couch and Henry can sleep in Jake's room."

"We can't do that," Brock said softly. "I appreciate it but I can't make things difficult for you just because they are for me." There was a part of Brock that couldn't believe what Reba was telling him. She offered for them to stay with her, where any other time hell would have to freeze over for that to happen. The last time Brock had stayed in his old house was because of a winter storm making it impossible for him to drive the twenty minutes it took him to get home.

A quiet chuckle came from Reba as she looked at the man. "You can do it, and you will do it. Brock, I insist." Reba gave a soft smile to him as he stared at her. She could see that he was still hesitant about agreeing to stay in the house. "Don't make me give you the puppy dog eyes."

This caused a laugh to come from Brock as he looked at her. "Hey, that's my move!" He could see that Reba was about to stick out her bottom lift and bat her ocean blue eyes at him, and that was the straw. He didn't want to see her do that because they both knew that as soon as those eyes started batting he was putty in the palm of her hands. "Fine, we'll stay."

Victory for Reba, and secretly it had been victory for Brock too. Being able to spend time with Reba was something Brock had always been thankful for, and he knew that he had took it for granted previously but he never wanted to do that again. Being away from her had taught him that the one thing he wanted in this world was to be with Reba, to spend every moment he possibly could with her. "Good, I know Henry will enjoy staying here, and I'll enjoy having another adult in the house."

"What are you talking about? Kyra still lives here."

Although Kyra had moved back in with her mom, she had rarely been home the past couple months. "With her music career taking off, she's been out on tour. She does call me almost every day though."

Brock simply let out a soft chuckle as he smiled at the redhead. There was no denying the fact he couldn't wait to spend time with her, and part of him prayed that they would have a moment. Another part of him prayed that they wouldn't because he didn't know if he had the strength to control himself from making that moment go on longer if it were to happen.

After dinner had concluded Henry and Jake had ran upstairs to play some video games for roughly an hour before getting ready for bed. Once they were both tucked in Reba and Brock retired to the couch where they sat on opposites ends and watched an episode of _The Andy Griffith Show_. Something Jake had said to Reba had done nothing but occupy her mind; ' _I missed having you and dad both tucking me in._ ' The innocent comment Jake had made had done nothing but haunt Reba.

Whatever feeling Reba was having did not go unnoticed by Brock. As he sat on the other side of the couch he couldn't help but wonder why the redhead hadn't said a word to him, which was odd considering she was the one who wanted him to stay that way they could spend some time together. Now she sat on the other end of the couch with her eyes locked on the television, never once glancing at him in the slightest.

"I don't understand." The sound of his voice brought Reba out of her own thoughts.

Reba quickly looked over at Brock. "Well, Andy knows that something is going on with his son because-"

Frustrated over the fact Reba thought, or pretended, to think he was talking about the show, Brock glared over at her. "That's not what I meant. Why did you convince me to stay here when you aren't saying a damn word to me? I might as well not even be here. If I wanted to be ignored I would have stayed at my house!"

Her heart rate sped up and she searched her brain for what she should say. She knew she hadn't been talking to him, and that she had kept her distance, but it also wasn't intentional. What Jake had said had been occupying her mind and she hadn't realized how quiet she had actually been. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel ignored."

"Then what's going on?" Not only did Brock want to know what was going on with Reba, but he _needed_ to know what was going on with her. There was part of him that was terrified she was being distant because of him. ' _Did I say something tonight that pushed her away,'_ Brock asked himself as he tried to remember every little thing he had said that night.

Telling Brock what was on her mind wasn't really what Reba wanted to do, even though doing so would be the best thing for her to do. "Nothing. I guess I'm just tired."

Lie. That was a lie and Brock immediately knew it. Very rarely did Reba act like this, even when she was tired. This was the way she acted when something was bothering her. "What's wrong? "

Again, her heart rate sped up as she stared at him. "I'm tired. I already told you that. It was a long day."

Another lie. Maybe her day had been long, but that wasn't the reason Reba was acting that way that she was. "I'm going to ask you one last time and I expect the truth. What- is- wrong?"

"Nothing- is- wrong!" Annoyance filled Reba's voice as she glared at her ex-husband. "I am exhausted! Other than that nothing is wrong!"

' _Lies, lies, lies_ ,' Brock thought to himself as he felt himself get frustrated more and more by each one. "Fine," Brock spoke quietly as he slowly got off the couch.

Confused and scared, words quickly came from Reba's mouth as she jumped off of the couch. "Where are you going?!"

Brock, who had headed towards the door, turned around and glared at her. "I'm going home since all you can do is lie to me! I know something is wrong and the fact that you begged me to stay here and now you're acting like I'm not even here makes me believe that it is because of me! I'll come get Henry tomorrow morning!"

Once his hand wrapped around the door knob Reba found herself talking faster than normal. "Please don't leave!" Reba exclaimed as she felt tears fill her eyes.

Quickly, Brock turned around and almost continued this argument until he saw her tear filled eyes. "What do you want me to do, Reba? I'm not going to stay here and have you be completely distant from me and ignore me. I'm not doing this, Reba. You can either be honest with me or I'm going home."

"Jake-" Reba began as she took a deep breath. "When we tucked the boys in, after you had already walked downstairs, Jake gave me a hug and told me that he really missed the two of us tucking him in together."

The anger Brock had felt quickly faded as he stared at the woman. "That's why you've been so distant?"

"Of course that's why I've been distant! All it does is remind me of how the divorce affected our children, not only us." A tear fell free from her right eye and traveled down her cheek.

The sight of the tear on Reba's cheek as well as hearing the words she had said had shattered Brock's heart into a million pieces. "I thought you were 'so far past on' that it didn't bother you anymore? "

Anger quickly filled her body as she heard the words that Brock had spoke. "You mo-ron! Of course it still bothers me! We were married for twenty years! You were everything to me and then you were gone!"

' _How could I have been so stupid to think that the divorce didn't bother Reba in the slightest anymore? I was her husband. We were supposed to grow old together_.' The last seven words Brock thought to himself stung like fifty bees were stinging him at once. Those words were the words Reba screamed at him at Cheyanne and Van's wedding while the family was fighting and everything was turning into a disaster. "And I will be sorry for the rest of my life that our marriage ended the way it did! Yes, we were already in a tough spot but had I not had an affair maybe there would have been a chance that we could have fixed everything."

There was no stopping the tears from escaping her eyes as she listened to Brock talk. "I hate this. I hate that we ended the way we did. I hate that for years I had to watch you prance around my house with your new wife and son. I hate that we hurt our children. I hate this whole situation," Reba exclaimed as she began to sob.

Without thinking or saying anything, Brock wrapped his arms around his ex-wife. "I'm so sorry, Reba." A kiss was placed on top of Reba's head as her face was pressed into his chest, making his shirt because stained with tears.

"I love Henry to pieces, I really do. And now that I've gotten to know Barbra Jean she's my best friend, but _you were my husband_. No matter how much I love the two of them I will always hurt at least a little over the fact that our marriage ended. The fact that we could've grown our family, instead of you getting a new one." This was the reason Reba didn't want to tell Brock what was going on. She knew that as soon as she did she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from saying anything and everything. Reba was unsure if she would be able to stop three small words from coming out if the opportunity presented itself.

While Brock listen to her break down he could feel his heart shatter. He never meant to hurt Reba like this. He had made a mistake that had costed him everything. With his lips pressed against the top of Reba's head, her hair covering his face, Brock began talking. "I'm so sorry, honey. I will be sorry forever."

All it took was for Reba to look up at Brock, and he found himself doing something he never thought he'd do again. When their blue eyes met, Brock slowly moved his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her face closer to his before he connected their lips for the first time in almost eight years.

After Brock had connected his lips to Reba's, he expected to get slapped in the face. To his surprise Reba had slowly, and gently, kissed him back before she pulled away. Speechless, Reba couldn't think of what to say as she watched Brock slowly open his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Brock said quietly as he stared in her eyes. "For everything. I have to live with the choices I made for the rest of my life. I have to live with the fact that I hurt you for the rest of my life."

Still shocked over what Brock had done, she knew she couldn't send him home now. "I think it's best that I go up to my bedroom," Reba whispered as she tried to pull away from Brock's grip. When he wouldn't ease up, she looked at him with sad eyes. "Please let me go," She begged as he did what she asked. Without saying another word Reba ran upstairs leaving Brock alone in the living room.


	3. The Heart Don't Lie

' _What in the hell just happened_ ,' Reba asked herself as she laid on her bed, the bed she used to share with Brock, as tears continued to fall from her eyes. For seven and a half years she had longed for that type of connection that she had just had with Brock. For seven and a half years she had imagined what that connection would be like. Now she was stunned that it had happened. ' _It has to be because I was upset. That's why he kissed me. Not because he still feels something for me. After all, he's the one who left in the first place._ '

Her heart rate was still high and she was thankful that she had her blood pressure medicine in her system. If she hadn't she would have passed out a long time ago. She loved this man even though he did nothing but hurt her. He was trying to be a better man, and it didn't go unnoticed by Reba. Maybe by others, but not her. He was still seeing a therapist about his clinical depression and he had been trying to make sure he spent more time with his family than at the golf course. During the course of his marriage with Barbra Jean he had never once cheated, despite the numerous moments between him and Reba throughout the years.

One Christmas Barbra Jean, Brock, and Henry all had to stay the night because of a storm. The power had been knocked out and Reba and Brock had been sitting in the kitchen talking when the power had turned back on. While blowing out the candles that had previously been the only light in the room, their eyes connected and they simply stared into each other's eyes for a minute. Another time had been when Brock and Barbra Jean were receiving counseling and the two ran into each other in the doorway, not to mention the discussion of the door between her and Brock that would never fully be closed. Throughout the course of seven years there were plenty of chances for him to kiss her, for him to cheat on Barbra Jean which would simply be karma, but he never did. He had grown into a somewhat more mature man, and although he was still in love with Reba he loved Barbra Jean as well and didn't want to hurt her.

A knock on the door pulled Reba out of her thoughts. She took a quick glance at the door before shifting in the bed, facing the wall. "You don't have to go home but you can't be around me right now. I can't handle this right now."

"Could we at least talk about what's going on? Please." Brock stayed in the doorway, not willing to go into the bedroom when he's not wanted, but not willing to leave either.

Another tear traveled down Reba's face as she kept her eyes towards the window. "Where was this guy when we were married," She meant to ask herself but when she heard her speaking it out loud she covered her mouth.

There were a thousand things Brock could say in response to her question. He could have gotten defensive and started yelling, but instead he slowly walked over to her bed. "That's what I want to talk about Reba. I want to talk about us."

"I don't want to talk about us! There is no us! We lost that when you left me!" Reba could feel the tears fall. She was afraid to let her guard down and allow him back in like that.

Those words haunted Brock; ' _There is no us! We lost that when you left me!_ ' Brock knew that the destruction of their marriage was mostly his fault, but he desperately wanted Reba to be assured that he was not the same person that he was then. Even if nothing were to ever happen between them again, it was important to Brock that she knew he was not the same person. He had changed drastically and to always be compared to the person he once was made him realize how much he screwed up everything. "There is still an us! We established that a few years ago when we were in counseling that one day. Remember what the therapist said?"

' _If there's a door that door is going to be open whether Brock and Barbra Jean get back together or not,_ ' Reba could hear Dr. Baker's voice in her head as if he was currently saying it to her. "Damn door," Reba mumbled as more tears fell.

Brock, who allowed a quiet sigh of relief out, looked at Reba. "That's what I thought. Now let's talk about this, please."

"I don't want to let you back in! All I'll get is hurt!" Reba was trying to get Brock to back off but the more persistent he was the more she started talking. "I waited so long for that kiss," Reba whispered loud enough for only Brock to hear her.

This stunned Brock. Never had he thought Reba had actually wanted him to kiss her. Sure, there was that time when the two hugged and Brock mentioned there being sparks between them, but he was more or less just being a moron, or in Reba's southern accent, a mo-ron. "I'm not going to hurt you. I hurt you in the past but I will never hurt you again. If you don't want that kiss to mean anything it won't. I'll walk back downstairs and we'll pretend it never happened, but if it meant something let's talk about it. Let's figure this out together."

With tear stained cheeks, Reba looked up at Brock. There was so much Reba wanted to tell him; how she still loved him, how she wanted to give them another try; but to give him a second chance Reba felt she needed to trust that she wouldn't get hurt in the end, and she couldn't do that at the moment. "I have often thought-" Reba began to speak as she sniffled. "Of what are lives would be like if we had a second chance. I cannot do that to myself though because as bad as I want to believe that you wouldn't hurt me again, I can't help but to think that you will."

As he listened to what she had to say, he wasn't sure if he should have been feeling relieved or like he was an awful person. "I would never hurt you again, Reba. It doesn't matter if we end up together or we only see each other once a week because I've destroyed our friendship by that kiss. I would never hurt you like that again." Brock placed his right hand softly on her left cheek and wiped a tear away.

"How do I know you wouldn't?! You told me back then that you'd never hurt me but look where we are now!" God, how she longed for the days when she didn't have trust issues towards him, towards anyone really.

Defeat washed over him and he stared into her eyes. There was no chance of ever having her trust him again, and if there was it was buried under all of her hurt, anger, and sadness. "I know you don't trust me right now. I haven't gave you a reason to trust me. But if you are wanting to at least try and give us another chance I will show you how much he you can trust me. We'll start slow and you can decide wherever our relationship goes, but if you give me a chance I can show you how sincere I am about this."

Silence filled the room for a moment while Reba searched for the right words to speak, the decision she wanted to make. "What if I say yes? How do we start over again when there's so much history, so much hurt?"

"If your answer is yes then we will go at the pace you make. I'll take you on a date and we'll go from there. If it makes you feel any better we can do a pre-date, a date that's not really a date but so we can test the waters before jumping in," Brock told Reba as he looked in her eyes. "I will do whatever I have to in order to win you back." The room was silent for a couple minutes as Brock stared into Reba's eyes. "What do you say?"

A minute went by with no answer from Reba. She searched her mind for what she wanted to say. "Okay," she whispered as she blinked back a tear and continued to stare into his eyes. She couldn't help but to ask herself if she had really just said okay to giving Brock another shot.

Relief overwhelmed Brock as he gave her a slight smile and stared into her eyes. "Okay what?"

"Okay, let's have a pre-date and see where things take us. I can have Cheyanne watch Jake tomorrow, and I'm sure she won't mind watching Henry as well." The decision that Reba had just made had a chance of destroying everything and that terrified her, but she also couldn't deny the fact that this had the potential to become something amazing. ' _I must have really lost my mind this time,_ ' Reba thought to herself.

There were so many feelings that Brock was feeling at the moment, and he was unsure of what to do. He couldn't believe that Reba had actually agreed to a pre-date. "That sounds great to me. I'll pick you up at seven," Brock spoke softly before he kissed her cheek gently and then headed towards the door. Before completely leaving the room, he turned around and looked at Reba, who was still staring in his direction. "Even though it's only a pre-date, dress up. I'm going to take you somewhere special." Brock didn't wait for Reba to respond before he headed back downstairs and laid on the couch, where he eventually fell asleep.


	4. What If It's You

"So you're going on a date but you're not getting back together?" Cheyenne asked her mother as she watched her do the dishes. "Am I missing something?"

Scrubbing the plates spotless, Reba looked at Cheyanne. "No, we're not getting back together, not yet anyways. Cheyanne, I don't expect you to understand that because you've never been without Van, but after everything your father and I have been through we still have feelings towards each other. Maybe it's not love feelings and we just think it is, or maybe we do still love each other. Either way we're never going to know until we figure it out, which is why we are going on this pre-date. If it goes bad then we're going to pretend it never even happened."

There was one time where Cheyanne believed that her parents getting back together would be the worse thing to happen, but where everyone was at in life now Cheyanne's views had changed. If things had really changed between her parents, and her father had really changed, maybe them getting back together wouldn't really be the worse thing to happen; especially since Barbra Jean had already started dating someone new. "What happens if the pre-date thing goes well? Does that mean you're getting back together?!"

Tension filled the room as Reba felt like she was playing a game of twenty questions with her daughter. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had known the answers to Cheyanne's questions, but that was the problem. Reba didn't know what was going to happen and neither did Brock. Maybe the two of them going on a pre-date would lead to them getting married, or maybe it would lead to them never talking again. No one knew what the future held, but Reba knew that she wasn't going to live in fear anymore. Brock was a single man and if the pre-date went wrong then maybe that was what she needed to move on. "We just have to wait and see. If it goes good then we'll go from there, but if we decide to advance in our relationship we're not moving fast at all. We may end up going out a few times before we officially get back together. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know that I want this to be a secret from the other kids."

There was a million questions Cheyanne had for Reba, more like a few, but she felt like the less questions asked the better Reba was. She didn't want to overwhelm her mother before her date with her father. "Why don't you let me do your hair mom? It's past your shoulders and I can do plenty of hairstyles with it." The only thing Reba did was nod her head before the two headed upstairs so Reba could begin getting ready.

"You're going to look absolutely amazing, mom," Cheyanne said as she softly brushed through her mother's natural curly red hair. "Dad's definitely going to realize what he lost when he lost you."

' _I definitely hope so_ ,' Reba thought to herself. "Honey, I think we're both passed that. What she had told her daughter was the truth, but at the same time Reba couldn't help but to hope that Brock realized what he had been missing out. After all Brock was the one who had gone off, had an affair, and got his mistress pregnant. Even after knowing about the affair Reba still wanted to work on their marriage, but learning about the unborn child was a game changer. From the moment she found out it became clear that this was not a midlife crisis where he'd buy a motorcycle and then come home; this midlife crisis turned their lives upside down. Seven came too quickly that evening, and Reba found herself sitting on her bed trying to calm her racing heart. Months had went by since she had been on a date, and almost eight years had gone by since she had been on a date with Brock. ' _This is crazy_ ,' Reba thought to herself as she slowly slipped on her black high heels. Cheyanne had put her curly hair into an elegant updo with a few strands of curls hanging around her face, and Reba had made sure to do her makeup fairly natural. Her lips were a peachy color while her eyes had a little eyeliner and mascara. Her light pink blush was the perfect shade to contrast with her light skin.

The mirror showed a reflection of a woman less than two years shy of fifty, who looked more like a twenty year old, wearing a sparkly red dress that hugged her in all the right places and stopped just above her knees. ' _I do clean up good,_ ' Reba thought to herself. She was never the type of person to think she looked good, but tonight was different. She had spent countless of hours making sure she looked the best she could. Either this date goes well and they work things out, or Reba was going to show Brock once and for all what he missed out on.

' _Should I knock or walk in like I normally do_ ,' Brock asked himself as he stared at the front door. He was unaware of how much he was sweating until the wetness of his hands made his hand slip off the doorknob. ' _She's never going to hold my hand if my hands are this sweaty. Damn it, Hart! Get it together!'_ The cloth or his khakis dried off his hands, but he couldn't help but to wonder for how long. _Knock, knock, knock_ ; the feeling of knocking on the front door was bizarre. Brock couldn't remember the last time he had knocked on the door, if he had ever. _Tick, tick, tick, tick;_ from the moment he knocked on the door Brock kept an eye on his watch. His heart was pounding and the more seconds that passed the louder he could hear the drumming in his ear.

 _Whoosh_ , the door opened quick and Brock saw his oldest daughter standing on the other side. "If I didn't know what's going on I would have thought you'd lost mind!" Cheyanne let out a giggle as she looked at her father. "Mom told me. She said she doesn't want the other kids too know though. I think it's so cute that you and mom are going on a secret date!"

As he closed the door behind him, Brock stared at his daughter. "It's not a date, and it's not a secret. We simply don't want to tell people and get their hopes up if there's a chance this won't work and it goes bad. We want to test the waters before we make things official."

"Dad, you still have feelings for each other after almost eight years of being apart. I don't think that the two of you would be going on this date, or pre-date, whatever it is, if there wasn't feelings still there." Cheyanne had grown into an intelligent young woman, who still had her dumb moments, but amazed Reba with how much she had changed. She had to grow up fast when Elizabeth was born on her high school graduation day, but eight years later Reba was extremely proud of the woman she had become. She had fought her demons with alcohol and had been working towards becoming a drug and alcohol counselor, which she had about a year left before she got her degree and became certified.

The truth of the matter was Brock knew he was still in love with Reba. He knew that during the divorce, but he also knew that he had hurt her in the worst way possible and that he had to do right by Barbra Jean. "Where's your mom?"

Just as Cheyenne was about to speak her mouth dropped open as she stared towards the stairs. Brock took note of Cheyanne's action and turned towards the stairs, only to be completely frozen by the sight that blessed his eyes.

"What are y'all looking at?" Reba asked despite the fact that she was fully aware of what they were looking at. "Do I really look that bad?"

Cheyanne quickly shook her shockness of and smiled enormously as she walked over and hugged her mom. "Are you kidding?! You look amazing!"

This made Reba smile ear to ear before she turned her attention to Brock. ' _Now time to hear the opinion that matters the most_ ,' Reba thought to herself as she took a silent deep breath before speaking. "Brock?" Reba asked softly as she kept her eyes on him. When Brock didn't respond Reba felt as if her heart had shattered into millions of glass pieces that scraped and cut her chest from the inside. "I'll be back," Reba said quickly and turned around towards the stairs.

Before Reba could start walking up the stairs, rs, Brock grabbed her wrist and turned her around. "Breathtaking," Brock whispered barely loud enough for Reba to hear. "Absolutely breathtaking."

"Really?" Reba asked as she stared into Brock's eyes.

Brock, who stayed fixed on Reba, had completely forgot that his oldest daughter was standing less than ten feet away. "You look so damn beautiful Reba. There are no words to describe how beautiful you look. You've left me speechless."

This was the side of her parent's relationship that Cheyanne had missed and hadn't seen in over a decade. Cheyanne had more memories of her parents being more like this in their relationship due to her being the oldest of the three, but due to all the fighting they did the last few years of their marriage Cheyanne had forgot what seeing them like this was like. Before either of the two could say anything Cheyanne cleared her throat.

' _How could I completely forget that my own daughter was standing right next to us,_ ' Brock asked himself as his daughter's sound brought him out of his thoughts. "We should probably go ahead and head out that way we're not late for our reservations."

Reba couldn't help but to continue to stare at Brock. He was never the type of person to make reservations. Okay, maybe never wasn't the right word, but the last time Brock had made reservations, at least with her, was long before their marriage had gone south. Jake had been a baby, if he was born at all. "Don't worry about Jake and Henry," Cheyanne spoke as she followed her parents to the front door. Once the door was opened at her parents were on the other side she smiled, "don't bring her home too late unless that means it's a good thing." Cheyanne giggled at her comment as she watched her mother's cheeks grow to a rose pink color before the door was closed, separating the two from their daughter.

It was finally time for the two to see if there was still more than friendship there. Maybe they'd end up remarried one day, or maybe they wouldn't, but it was finally time to find out which direction they were heading in and that made Reba nervous. She was afraid of losing Brock forever, but the more she thought about it the more she realized that her fear was a sign; a sign that not wanting to lose Brock meant that their relationship was going to go down the road she wanted and hoped for it to.


	5. A Poor Man's Rose

' _I could listen to this woman talk day after day, and her smile, damn her smile, could make me be putty in her hands instantly,"_ Brock thought you himself while he sat on the other side of the table and listened to Reba talk about her day. Brock had made reservations at one of the most fanciest restaurants in Houston, the restaurant that Reba was having dates with herself so she could have time to herself and read. She seemed to be enjoying herself. There wasn't any tension and awkwardness in the air. In fact, there were times when Brock felt like the past eight years hadn't happened and they were still married, oh how he wished that was the case.

"Elizabeth stayed the weekend with me the other weekend and it was just the two of us since Jake was staying at his friend's house that weekend. I almost forgot what it was like for it to just be me and a young one," Reba continued to speak as she giggled thinking of how much fun that day was.

There was something about the way Reba's face lit up when she talked about their children or grandchildren. Sure, they drove her crazy most of the time, but her love for them was stronger than anything Brock had ever known. "I miss those days," Brock responded quietly as he stared in Reba's eyes, seeing the confusion at his words not only in her eyes but in her face as well. "Those days when the kids were little. Everything felt so right during those days." Brock gently ran his thumb across the top of her hand.

Reba knew exactly what he meant. Their lives were so good when the kids were little. There was no midlife crisis, no mistress, no divorce, only love; love for each other, love for their children, there was love. "You've got to stop blaming yourself for what happened, stop going back to that place that we're both out of now."

Blaming himself was one of the only things he knew how to do. He always blamed himself; blamed himself for hurting him family, his best friend, for tearing them apart, and countless other things that made their lives difficult for the years to follow. He blamed himself for each thing that happened in their lives that he was part of. "I don't know if I can do that, Reba. It's my fault. I'm the one who had the midlife crisis that ruined our lives. Don't act like you don't blame me."

"I did," Reba began as she kept her eyes on him. "For a long time I blamed you. For a long time every time I saw you I got angry, but as time went on I realized that it wasn't only you. If I would have made you feel wanted-"

Suddenly Reba was interrupted as Brock stared into her blue eyes. "I didn't give you a chance to make me feel wanted. When things got tough I made every excuse I could think of to get away and that turned into a separation and a pregnant mistress."

That wasn't a lie. Reba spent countless of hours trying to fix their marriage while Brock spent countless of hours avoiding her, but regardless Reba was past that and she wanted Brock to be past it as well. "Everything is in the past, and our lives didn't turn out that bad. Our children are happy, Henry is happy, and who knows where whatever this is will take us. The one thing I do know is that you have to stop blaming yourself. If there is ever going to be an us you have to stop blaming yourself. I don't blame you so you need to quit blaming you."

While he listened to her words Brock noticed how much they had both grown. Brock wasn't being his offensive self insisting that nothing was his fault and everyone was blaming him, and Reba wasn't yelling at him and blaming for him even though he deserved the blame. "I'll work on it," Brock whispered as he stared at the woman in front of him.

Smiles were exchanged as the two remained silent for the following few minutes. Blame was something that destroyed people, Reba knew that and she didn't want Brock to continue on the road to destruction. "Henry is growing into a great little boy."

The conversation turned to his youngest son made him smile. "Yeah, he is. I'm just glad he hasn't gotten any of those weird obsessions where he has 400 of something like Barbra Jean does with Beanie Babies."

The comment that Brock had made had them both giggling. The man had a point. Barbra Jean had an issue with when she loved something she loved it hard, and made it into an obsession. Her most famous obsession; beanie babies. The woman had even been the vice president of the beanie babies fan club. "You got a point there," Reba couldn't stop laughing as she rolled her eyes.

"I think I'm most scared that I'll screw him up. I'm beyond thrilled that I'm getting custody of Henry, but I'm terrified that the amazing boy he is right now will vanish after a while because of me." Brock hadn't spoke about his fears of raising Henry on his own to anyone, but it did feel good to get it off his chest. He never had to raise any of the kids on his own, where Reba might as well had raised three kids on her own.

There was a look in Brock's eyes that Reba had rarely seen; maybe once, twice at the most. "One thing you have always been is a good father, Brock. We went through a difficult part of our lives where everything was screwed up and our children turned out amazing. I have no doubt that Henry is going to continue to grow into an amazing person. Besides, even though Barbra Jean hasn't always made the best choices, let's be honest none of us have, she is a good person."

His ex-wife was a good person and that was what made Brock love her years ago. "My fear is that because she won't be around as much is that all of the good things that Barbra Jean has instilled in Henry will disappear."

"That's not going to happen, Brock. Barbra Jean is still going to be in his life, and I will be too. After all, I'm fun Aunt Reba, according to Barbra Jean and now Henry," Reba said with a giggle as she looked at her ex-husband. "Besides I only live three houses down. If either of y'all ever need anything I'm always here." Reba's words took her back to a few years back when she went on a diet with Cheyanne and Barbra Jean and Cheyanne had decided to tell Barbra Jean that she could come over to Reba's house anytime she wanted, day or night. The memory made her giggle and she could see the confusion on Brock's face. "It'll all work out. I promise." There were times when talking to Reba was the number one thing Brock needed; to hear the advice that would come from her soft pink lips. Advice that never scared him wrong. Hand in hand, Brock and Reba walked up to her front door while they giggled and talked. "Thank you for an amazing time tonight," Reba spoke once they stopped walking. "I really enjoyed myself."

"Does this mean that we can have a real first date?" His question made his palms start to sweat and he could feel his heartbeat in his head, like his heart wasn't really in his chest but instead in his head. He prayed that Reba couldn't feel his sweaty hands or hear his rapid heartbeat.

Their pre-date hadn't been awkward or tense, which Reba was scared of it feeling like that. Reba didn't want for the first date to be awkward and the idea of a pre-date made her feel no pressure to make sure everything went right. A simple nod of her head and she could see the enormous smile from on Brock's face. "I would really like that."

Reba placed her hand on the doorknob but before she was able to turn it Brock had took it off. "Why not let this last a few more minutes? I'm sure Cheyanne is doing fine with the kids."

A smile grew on Reba's face as she looked at her ex-husband. "The night will have to end at some point or the other."

"But it doesn't have to end now. We can spend the next couple minutes just the two of us. After all, Cheyanne is probably sitting on the couch waiting for us to get home and is going to ask us twenty questions about how the night went and if there's a future between us." The man wasn't wrong. Their oldest daughter was quite nosey, but she always had good intentions.

There was part of Reba that was scared of what would happen if they didn't go ahead and end their pre-date. The evening was great, Reba was worried that the more they prolonged it the more of a chance an argument could happen. With her hand still in Brock's, she gave him a soft smile and looked up at him. "Okay. What would you like to do?"

Brock led Reba to the bench as they both took a seat and he held her close. "I'm perfectly fine sitting right here with you."

This was the side of Brock that she hadn't seen in years, but the side of him that had caused her to fall in love with him all those years ago. "Who are you and what have you done with Brock?" Reba asked as she looked at him and giggled.

"I'm a man who's in love with you," Brock whispered as he stared in Reba's eyes. He could tell by not only the shock on her face, but in her eyes as well, that she had not been expecting that answer. The closeness between them had become extremely clear to both of them, and yet neither of them moved away. In fact, noticing the closeness only had drawn them closer together.

Those words echoed in her reminded her of the song _I'll Always Be The Man In Love With You_ by George Strait, a favorite of both of theirs. The song had been one that Brock had heard on the radio on his way home from work in 1992, and after hearing the song he had went straight to WalMart to see if he could find the CD that the song was on, which he did. The first thing he did that night when he got home was give Reba a kiss and then played the song for her, explaining to her that the song was everything he had always wanted to say to her but could never find the words.

Years later, staring into her blue eyes while sitting on the bench outside the house they once shared, Brock realized that the lyrics of the song were just as true now as they were memory of the event that had took place all those years ago made him slightly smile. "I'll always be the man in love with you," Brock whispered before he connected their lips, an action that he had wanted to do all night but didn't want Reba to think that the physical aspect of their relationship was all he wanted.

His lips had a sense of security, a sense of wholeness. Maybe that was because since the day he had left Reba had always felt broken, even when she didn't let it show. She found herself feeling broken while in other relationships, which was why she believed that her other relationships never advanced much. The other relationships always made her happy in the beginning, and she always had hope that they would fill the holes that had been created when Brock had left, but each time she was left with feeling broken again as she stayed in each relationship longer.

Her eyes quickly jolted open when she felt one of his hands resting on her leg and the other resting on her lower back. Just as quickly as her eyes had opened, they closed. This was another feeling that she hadn't felt in years, but as soon as she felt it she felt loved. Loved, safe, at home. The two were brought out of there moment when the front door swung open and their oldest daughter stood in the doorway, along with Brock's youngest son. The couple quickly scooted away, both aware that Cheyanne had at least seen the closeness of the two, but not sure what Henry had seen. They were going to have some explaining to do.


End file.
